Come June 16, parking a car at Calcutta airport will cost Rs 100 for two hours, up from Rs 60 for four hours.

The current rule of allowing vehicles to park in front of the terminal for 10 minutes without paying any fee will remain in force.

"A contract has been signed with a new agency, following which the rates have been changed," an airport official said.

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has said the parking rate has been increased to discourage people from "keeping their cars in the parking lot for long hours".

At the Mumbai and Delhi airports, the parking fee for the first 30 minutes is Rs 110 and Rs 80, respectively.

The parking fee for coaches and buses at the city airport has been increased from Rs 70 for four hours to Rs 110 for two hours. The fee for parking two-wheelers will be Rs 25 for two hours.

After two hours, the car parking fee will increase by Rs 20 an hour. For two-wheelers, the fee will rise by Rs 10 an hour after two hours.

The parking rate beyond seven hours - up to 24 hours - will be 300 per cent of the first two-hour rate.

Airline operators said that post-hike, the airport authorities should ensure shorter queues while entering and exiting the parking lot and at the toll gates.

"The parking fees have been increased arbitrarily, without consulting the airlines. This way, passengers are paying more indirect costs for flying other than the airfare," said Captain Sarvesh Gupta, chairman, Airline Operators' Committee, Calcutta. "Even the current fee is not less. To make Rs 100 for two hours is unacceptable for a state-run airport," he said.

Frequent fliers alleged that poor queue management at the entry and exit points of the parking area and also at the toll gates often force them to pay excess fee.

"A couple of months ago, I had dropped a relative at the airport around 9.30am. Though I hardly stopped the car in front of the terminal, it took me 15 minutes to cross the parking fee checkpoint as a long queue of cars had formed with only two of the lanes open. Like me, several other drivers were made to pay the parking fee since we had crossed the 10-minute time limit," Dum Dum resident K. Ghosh said.